Saturday, September 26, 2009

Spicy and Savoury Breaded Shrimps

It's a dangerous world out there. I've been stalked and harassed a few times lately....a few times too many. It's a sign that I need to stop taking other avenues and short cuts!

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The stalking and harassing has been no other than the pleasant "bugging" by my friends and co-workers to update my blog! Being harassed this way is a huge motivator to start taking care of my blog. I have to admit that since my move to our new house, my energy level for my passion of food and cooking has taken another direction. I've been cooking quite a lot lately but have been tempted to take a couple of short cuts by thinking of posting recipes without mouth-watering pictures. I obviously opted that idea out because I thought it would be a lack of respect for fans of "food porn" like myself. Although my love for cooking is still a prominent trait of my personality, I've been very lazy to take the time to set up my camera to take food shots. The truth is, since I moved, my computer has let me down and annoyed the hell out of me by freezing or by crashing my applications in the middle of my blogging sessions. Not impressive. So, I decided that it was time to let got of my big old and clunky desktop and get a new computer. This time, I've decided to go for a laptop that would be easy to move around the house or carry during my travels. My brother, a tech-ie, has been helping me shop for a good laptop that would respond to my needs. Nothing too fancy nor too high-tech, and most importantly, affordable. Despite these criterias, my eyes have been set on Macbook Pros for a while now. They're so expensive, but they would definitely meet my requirements : light weight, simple to use and powerful in graphics and picture editing.

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Until I have a good laptop handy, I can't promise that my blog posts will appear often, but when they do appear, they'll be good ones. For now, I'm using an old PC down in the basement, that does the job just fine, but it's missing convenience and practicality when it comes to regular blogging.

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To spare you from my blabbing about my search on a new laptop and excuses for my lack of blogging, I'd like to share with you a very simple recipe on breaded shrimps, which is often a hit at dinner parties. They're plump, juicy and crispy, breaded with Panko, a japanese bread crumb that makes fried or baked foods crunchier and airier.

Recipe "au pif":16-20 large or jumbo shrimps (outer shell removed, but keep the tail)1 tbsp coarse sea salt (or to taste)1 tbsp chili flakes1 tsp black ground pepper1 egg, whisked1 1/2 cups panko flakes (could be found in local asian grocery stores) in a large bowl, to coat the shrimps3/4 cup canola oil for frying*Prepare shrimps by removing outer sell, but keep the tail. With a small sharp knife slit halfway through the back of the shrimp from the larger end to the tail and open the the shrimp like a butterfly.*Clean the insides and pat the shrimps dry with a paper towel. Throw them in a salad bowl for seasoning.*Sprinkle the chili flakes, the coarse sea salt and the pepper over the shrimps. Mix with your hands and make sure each shrimp is well seasoned.*Gently soak each shrimp in the egg and coat generously in the panklo flakes.*Repeat until all shrimps are breaded with the panko flakes.*Heat oil in a small and deep frying pan (this will avoid splattering of the oil while shrimps are frying) on medium-high until oil is hot but not smoking hot.*Fry the shrimps 4 at a time. The shrimps should be sizzling and turn golden brown in just about 5 minutes. Don't overcook them as we're trying to get nice juicy and plump shrimps and not dry.*Remove shrimps from oil when done, and lay them on a dry paper towel to soak off excess oil.*Once all the shrimps are done, lay them on a bed of shredded lettuce oralfallfa sprouts.*Serves 8-10 people as an appetizer or 4 people as part of a main course.*Share and enjoy!